Chapter 21:
Angel allowed a small smile as she watched her new companions walk ahead of her. Nosedive and Mookie held Molly's hands and were swinging her back and forth. The young human squealed in delight. She had made sure to stop at a safe planet where she could buy the trio some new clothes and pick up a few more parts she wanted for the ship. Once they were fully stocked, they would make their way back to Earth. She had chosen this particular planet because she knew the area she had brought them to, had many stores and attractions for travellers with children. Molly pointed to a store window and rushed over to it with Mookie in tow as Nosedive held back to walk beside her.
"You didn't have to do all this you know." Dive told her as he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes holding a few bags over his shoulder.
"Buy you guys some clothes?" She laughed. "You need more than one set of clothes!" She declared.
"Yeah but you didn't have to bring us to a place like this." He smirked at the small blush that crossed her cheeks.
"I thought it would take her mind off her mom." Angel shrugged.
"You like kids, huh?" Dive asked her.
"No, they make a lot of noise and they often smell and…" Angel listed off stubbornly.
"Liar." Dive called her out with a laugh.
"What's it like?" Angel asked as they followed Molly and Mookie who were running from store front to store front. "To have a brother, I mean?" Dive studied her face curiously. He saw a pleading look there as well as the curiosity that obviously led to the question.
"Oh, um." Nosedive had to think for a moment, wanting to sort out his thoughts first, "Well, I'm not sure it's what it's like for all siblings but my brother is… Um. Well he's always been there. No matter what happened. When our dad died, he stepped up and looked out for me and mom. When the saurians attacked and we didn't know where mom was he protected me." He clenched his fists, "The things he did to protect me were… well…I mean, I wish I could have done something to stop it. There were others who did the same for their families. Some survived like Wing. But just as many…"
"They died?" Angel guessed sadly.
"Yeah." Dive hadn't realised his breathing had quickened as his mind flashed back to a memory he'd rather forget. Angel's eyes went wide as she realised what was happening. She'd seen enough people have flash backs in her life.
"Tell me what you see Nosedive." She said quietly as she steered him from the crowds whilst keeping one eye on the whereabouts of Mookie and Molly.
"He's dead." Dive whimpered as if in a trance, sounding much younger than he looked. Tears appeared at the corners of his eyes.
"Who's dead Nosedive?" Angel asked.
"A friend. He was in Wildwing's class." Dive replied. Angel sat him down on a nearby bench and took his hand, wishing Moogie were with her to help. The animal was psychic, and it made dealing with such issues much easier. He had certainly helped her over the years.
"What happened to him?" She asked him.
"He was trying to protect his mother. So, they took him instead." The tears were streaming down his cheeks now as he relived the memory, "the screams kept us up all night. The next day he walked past us like a zombie. By the evening he'd killed himself. It was me that found him."
"Was anyone with you?" Angel asked taking his hand with her right and rubbing his shoulder with her left.
"My… my brother." He answered.
"But he's okay right?" She urged him on.
"Yes, but it could have been him." Nosedive's breathing became erratic as his imagination took hold of the memory and twisted it into more of a nightmare than it already was. In his mind's eye, it was Wildwing lying there in a pool of his own blood. Lifeless eyes staring off into space, never to show the warmth and love that was always there to protect him. "It could have been him!" Dive cried, "He used to do what Corey did! He used to let them take him instead of taking me! He could have died cause of me!" Angel could feel as his psyche went into a panic. The left hand rubbing his shoulder gently wrapped around the back of his neck and pulled him forward so that their foreheads were touching. The markings on her face glowed slightly as she focused her mind to merge with his.
"Wildwing!" Nosedive fell to his knees as he called after his brother who seemed to be a silhouette in the distance. The wind whipped his hair around and he could hardly catch his breath. Then, behind him, he heard a voice.
"Nosedive!" He turned to see Angel approaching him she looked like a ghost with her skin paler than normal and the markings on her face glowing. "It's all just a dream. Your brother is fine, and I will take you home to him, but you have to wake up!" Nosedive gasped and was suddenly back in the alien market place.
"I'm sorry!" Dive clenched his fists over and over as he calmed his breathing, "I haven't done that in a long time."
"It's okay. It's pretty normal for people to have flashbacks after traumatic events." She said to him kindly ash she rubbed his back.
"But it's been years since all that happened." Dive protested. "I shouldn't still be getting them, right?!"
"I still have night terrors on occasion." She assured him.
"So, I've been wondering, how did you become a pirate?" Dive changed the subject.
"Well I've only really been a pirate for a few years." She said, "I tried to find more of my people first." She leant back against the bench and looked up to the stars, "Found this really old guy on some desolate planet. He'd been marooned on it when his ship had run out of fuel as he escaped from Azmaria. Turned out he was an old master. I badgered him into teaching me everything he knew in exchange for a lift to civilisation. He eventually became a council member of the GA." She noticed that Dive was trying to remember what the GA stood for, "The Galactic Alliance. Several planets coming together for mutual protection with a combined police and military force. They're gradually expanding in a hope to minimise more damage caused by Plutarkian invasions. Not to mention any future races that may choose to attempt to oppress other planets."
"Sounds like a good idea." Dive leant forward and looked at his feet. He looked up again when he saw Molly's small feet appear in front of him.
"I'm hungry." She told him, "Can we go get something to eat from the ship?"
"Here." Angel said handing the girl a credit chip, "That place is meant to be good," she pointed to an open-air restaurant just off to their right, "Go get something from there. I need something from a store a few blocks away, so I'll come find you when I'm done. There should be enough on there to pick up whatever you guys want from the local shops too."
"You're going alone?" Dive asked.
"Sure, I'm not really hungry." She waved him off.
"Okay." Mookie looked at Nosedive curiously then back at Angel. Angel jogged off into the crowds and Mookie turned back to him, "So what were you two up to?" She asked with a teasing tone.
"We were talking about our pasts and I kind of had a nasty flash back." Dive admitted.
"Oh man!" Mookie placed a hand on her shoulder, "I don't think I've seen you have one of those for a couple of years!"
"I thought I was over them." Dive snorted, "Guess not though, huh?"
"Hey, you're not so good when you're away from your brother for extended periods." Mookie pointed out, "Maybe they're back cause of that?"
"Maybe." He sighed then looked at Molly, "Come on Molly, let's get you some food."
"Are you okay Nosedive?" Molly asked as she took his hand.
"Course I am!" he grinned, "I'm Nosedive! I gotta be okay to keep you safe, right?!" He winked, and Molly smiled back at him. Mookie sighed at his antics to cheer the girl up and looked back in the direction that Angel had left.
"Angel!" A hound known as buster said as she entered the back-street store. "What brings you here?!"
"I'm trying to connect this to my computer in order to contact a similar device on Earth." She told him.
"Earth?!" He laughed, "Taking in strays again?"
"Can you help me or not?" She rolled her eyes at the hound. Buster held out his paw and waited for her to pass him Nosedive's comm unit. He studied it for some time and considered things for a moment.
"You're going to need an elyon patch to get this to first; connect to your onboard tech properly, then you'll need a synovian mother board to give your systems a big enough boost to transmit that far."
"Well my on-board computer already has the synovian mother board." She smirked at his annoyed look, "Sorry to disappoint you. But, you got an elyon patch?"
"How much is it worth to you?" Buster leant forward with his best smile.
"Enough to not beat your ass, provided you don't try to rip me off mutt." She smiled back at him sweetly. The hound growled and leant back again.
"One thousand Yaja jewels." He said confidently.
"Really?" Angel raised a brow. "I'll give you five hundred."
"£900." He countered.
"£500." Angel repeated.
"£800, final offer or no sale." Buster growled.
"£500, or I just take it from you." Angel said as she reached for one of her blades. "And I know you don't want me searching for it, now do you."
"Deal." Buster sighed and held out his paw. Angel took the offered paw and shook. Then she pressed a button on her wrist band and a flash of light revealed a pile of jewels.
"Pleasure doing business with you buster." Angel smiled at him again.
"Yeah, yeah." Buster grumbled and tossed the patch to her, "One of these days…"
"One of these days, you'll go legit and make a decent living without selling stolen goods." She winked as she left the store with a chuckle.
She made her way to her ship and quickly installed the patch to before connecting it to the comm unit. Angel transmitted the signal and;
"Nosedive?" A desperate sounding voice answered the line. She frowned when she realised she still wasn't getting a video image.
"No, this is Angel." She replied as she fiddled with the settings to try and bring the image up.
"Where's my brother? This is his comm!" Wildwing snapped.
"You have to be Wildwing." She smirked then let out a small cheer as an image flickered onto her screen. "Much better." She added. On the screen was a white feathered, frustrated looking Wildwing. Angel raised a brow at the state of Nosedive's brother, it was clear he had been beaten recently, and badly.
"You didn't answer my question," Wildwing scowled at her. "Angel, was it?
"He's with Molly and Mookie, getting dinner." She told him as she put her tools away.
"So, they're safe?" He said with relief.
"And sound, yes." She replied.
"Wait, so why are you calling if they're not with you right now?" Wildwing asked.
"Because I didn't want to get their hopes up until I knew this would work." Angel admitted. Wildwing studied her carefully now he could see her.
"How do I know I can trust you with them?" He demanded.
"No offense," Angel laughed, "But you don't really have a lot of options in that regard." Angel smirked at him.
"What's that supposed to mean." Wing demanded.
"It means, you're nearly three galaxies away from our current position." She pointed out, "From what I understand, your only aerial mode of transport, isn't designed for deep space travel and even if it was capable it doesn't sound like you would ever get here before we all died of old age." Wildwing continued to scowl at the teen and Angel groaned, "Listen, I am bringing them home. But three galaxies away takes a lot of fuel and I'm going to need to make a few pit stops to ensure we have enough to get us all there and me back to the nearest fuelling port."
"Why are you helping us? What do you want?" Wildwing asked suspiciously.
"Oh, you are definitely related to blondie." Angel muttered earning an irritated look. "Like I said to your brother. It's what I do." She explained.
"That's not really an explanation." Wildwing grumbled.
"Yeah well, that's all you're gonna get." Angel snapped, "Listen, they should be finishing up by now. Now I know this works, I'll be sure to let them call you guys a little later. Just be sure to be around okay?" She looked away as if a little embarrassed for some reason, "Make sure Molly's mom is there too."
"Hey, wait I…" Wildwing started but she ended the call. Angel got up from where she had been sitting and left to find the others.
On Earth, Wildwing frowned at the now blank screen. "Did she call my little brother, blondie?" He asked himself. He shook his head and left to find his team and Jessica to tell them what had happened and that they should stick around in case they call back soon.
"Angel!" Molly called as she shovelled a sweet that was similar to Earth's ice cream into her mouth. "This is really nice!" Molly declared.
"It is good." Mookie agreed as she ate her own portion.
"Have you eaten anything since breakfast?" Nosedive studied Angel carefully.
"I've snacked." She shrugged back. "When you guys are done, we should pick up some more clothes and go back to the ship. We'll spend another day or two here before we make a start." She explained to them.
"Angel?" Molly said as she jumped off her seat and walked over to her. "I saw something I'd like. But I…"
"Show me." Angel told her. Molly beamed and led Angel away from the restaurant. Dive and Mookie had already paid anyway so they trotted after them. They watched as Molly blushed and pointed to some cuddly toys shaped like colourful dog like creatures. Angel spoke to the vendor and appeared to barter before the vendor passed two of the toys to a very happy looking Molly.
"Thank you!" She squealed and hugged her new toys.
"You're welcome." Angel replied. She seemed distracted though and Nosedive scanned the crowds to see if he could spot anything off. He didn't notice anything obvious, so he was surprised when Angel suddenly threw an older man to the ground.
"You know, it's not a good idea to pick the pocket of a pirate." She scowled at the older man. The man seemed to wheeze then he moved quicker than anyone could have suspected and nearly grabbed Molly, but Angel was quicker. She moved like lightening and with a spin and a grunt, Molly was in the air and soon landing in Nosedive's arms. The attack finished with a blade at the man's throat. Dive could see that the alien man had loose skin that was a pale blue. His eyes were an eerie white and his teeth yellow. Passers by hurried past, trying to ignore the altercation.
"Amayan." He spat at her. "I know you!" Dive watched Angel and the attacker warily. Angel narrowed her eyes at him. "I would be paid handsomely for you." He sounded a little mad when he said this, and a small laugh followed the statement.
"You think you could take me?" Angel asked coldly.
"Don't know till I try." He laughed. "Got nothing to lose!"
"Don't throw your life away." Angel growled and shoved him away from them.
"What life is this?" He cocked his head at her, "No money. No family. Nothing! I have nothing!"
"You have your life." Angel told him before turning to leave. Nosedive was placing Molly onto her feet when he spotted a small pipe being aimed at Angel's back. The blue alien placed something into the pipe and brought it to his mouth. He moved without realising and heard himself call out a warning as he pushed a surprised Angel out of the way. Something pierced his skin and for a few short moments he thought the sensation had just been his imagination. Then he screamed out in pain as his veins began to burn. He fell to the ground and clawed at the wound in his arm, desperate to remove whatever had hit him there. He knew nothing else at that moment. Just that he wanted to stop the pain.
"Nosedive!" Mookie yelled running over to him with Molly. They tried to stop him from clawing at his arm, but Molly was knocked back and as Molly began wailing, Mookie resorted to throwing her entire body onto the screaming duck to try and stop him from hurting himself. She glanced up to see Angel with her blade at the old alien's throat again.
"Antidote, now!" She growled at him dangerously.
"Why would I need that." He chuckled, "I didn't get poisoned!" Angel's eyes narrowed, and she kneed the alien hard in the gut before turning to Nosedive. "Moogie!" She called. Mookie looked around in confusion, sure that they had left the pet on the ship. Said pet trotted over and with a flash of blue flames he was suddenly the size of a small pony. Mookie stepped away from the animal in shock and reached out to pull Molly close to her as Moogie placed a large paw on Nosedive's chest. His eyes glowed and after a few moments Nosedive's screams stopped and Angel dragged Nosedive onto Moogie's back.
"Let's go!" She said to Mookie and Molly. Mookie rushed after Angel and her now large psion. Passers-by gawped at them as they passed but still stayed clear. Anyone who did come too close got a warning look from Angel which seemed enough to scare them off.
"What's wrong with him?" Molly asked once they were in the ship and Mookie was helping Angel transfer Nosedive from Moogie's back to the cot in the med bay.
"He's been pumped full of something." Angel stated the obvious whilst activating the medi unit. "I just have to figure out what with and the unit can synthe an antidote." Angel typed at the keyboard as the unit scanned Nosedive's prone form. It took the computer a couple of minutes to stabilise him and ascertain what the poison in his system was. It would take at least thirty to forty minutes for the med unit to synthesise an antidote.
"Will he be okay?" Mookie asked.
"In a few days, he will." Angel sighed and got up. She picked up a device and pointed it at Mookie and then Molly.
"What are you doing?" Molly asked.
"Getting your measurements." Angel replied and turned the device on Nosedive, "The med unit will take a bit of time to create the antidote and administer it. I doubt he'll wake up till tomorrow even after it's administered. So, I want you two to stay here whilst I go pick up those extra clothes for you."
"Molly!" Jessica called over the line as soon as her daughters image flickered onto the screen of Drake One.
"Mom!" Molly replied with a beaming smile, then added quickly, "You're okay! Those stinky saurians said they'd got you and Wildwing. I was so scared! They sent us to this scary lab place, but then we escaped and then we were somewhere else and, then there was a scary cat guy and his scary fish friend. Then…."
"Easy Molly." Mookie placed her hand on Molly's head, "Slow down or they'll never understand you."
"Are you okay baby?" Jessica asked her daughter.
"I'm okay mom." Molly replied.
"Where's Nosedive?" Wildwing asked from Jessica's side, "I thought that Angel girl said he would be here too."
"He got hurt." Mookie said a little apprehensively.
"What?!" Wildwing exclaimed.
"We were out and there was this crazy dude." Mookie explained, "Angel dealt with it but then he pulled out this blow gun thing. Dive jumped in the way and now he's sick." Mookie hugged herself and rubbed her arms.
"Will he be okay?" Wildwing sounded on the verge of panic and Mookie watched as Jessica took his hand, which calmed him a little.
"He'll be fine." Angel replied as she entered the room.
"You!" Wildwing snapped pointing an accusatory finger at her. Angel looked back at him less than impressed, "You said they were all safe!"
"They were all safe." Angel shrugged, "Still are. But when I spoke to you earlier, that nut job hadn't attacked us. So, your brother hadn't been poisoned at that point."
"But he'll be okay? Right?" Jessica asked as she squeezed Wildwing's hand.
"He'll probably be out for a few days," Angel informed them, "But he'll be fine with some rest. This ship is equipped with some pretty advanced medical tech." Angel studied Nosedive's older brother for a few moments. He appeared agitated and, from the reaction of the woman beside him, this was out of character for him. She knew the pair were close from the way Nosedive was so desperate to get word to his friends and his reaction when he knew that they had found Wildwing. She felt a pang of jealousy for what they had, something she had longed for her entire life but quickly shook it off. She walked forward and typed in a few commands. This allowed an image of the security feed from the med bay to show Nosedive sleeping peacefully on one of the cots in the room. He was a little pale, but otherwise looked fine and merely asleep. "I've promised to take them home and that's what I'll do." She turned to Mookie, "You remember how to disconnect the feed?"
"Yeah." Mookie replied.
"Excuse me then." Angel bowed slightly to those on the screen, then left.
"She seems…." Jessica tried to find the right words.
"She's really nice mom." Molly assured. "She can be really scary if you're a bad guy but she's really nice to the good people. She bought me some cuddly toys today."
"What exactly do you know about this girl?" Canard asked Mookie.
"Well, her name is Angel." Mookie started, "She's fights the bad guys and helps people in need," Mookie paused to consider her words, "It's just her and her alien cat. She doesn't have anyone else here."
"She looks kid of young ta be on her own." Duke observed, "Where's her family?"
"Dead." Mookie informed them sadly.
"Mom?"
"Yes baby?" Jessica placed her hand on the screen, wanting desperately to hold her daughter.
"Since Angel doesn't have a family," Molly started, "can we be her family when we get home?" Jessica blinked in shock at her daughter's question. "She's all alone except for her pet." Molly told them, "She pretends she's okay, but she always looks so sad. So Please can she stay with us when she brings us back to Earth?" Jessica looked at Wildwing, lost for words.
"Well, I guess that depends on Angel, princess." Wildwing told her, "She may not want to stay here."
"She will." Molly said with such surety it made Jessica smile. It was then that Molly yawned.
"You look tired baby." Jessica stated, "Maybe it's time for you to go to bed. I want daily calls though." She addressed Mookie, "You miss one and I will not be happy."
"Yes ma'am." Mookie mock saluted.
"I love you mom." Molly said as she hoped down from the seat she was sitting on and blew a kiss. "Love you too Wildwing." Jessica and Wildwing smiled at her.
"Love you too princess." Wildwing said as he wrapped his arm around Jessica's shoulders and squeezed.
"Stay safe Molly." Jessica told her daughter.
"I will mom." Molly assured.
"Bye guys." Mookie waved before disconnecting the feed and looking down at the small blonde child. "Lets get you to bed Molly."